HackerSafe: Online Shopping to Peak on “Super Tuesday”

First there was “Cyber Monday.” Now there’s “Super Tuesday.”

If history is any indication, online holiday shopping activity will peak tomorrow, Dec. 13 between noon and 1 p.m. EST, according to online security certification company HackerSafe.

In a study of shopping patterns at 65,000 online merchants that use HackerSafe, the company reports that online shopping throughout the year historically starts the week strong on Mondays and then peaks on Tuesdays between noon and 3 pm EST, confirming the widespread practice of broadband shopping from work.

Last year, online shopping peaked on Tuesday, Dec. 14, according to HackerSafe. Dubbing the day “Super Tuesday,” HackerSafe opines that shopping activity peaks on that day because it is the last day consumers can avoid express shipping charges and still be sure their packages arrive on time.

“Last year, Dec. 14 was the last Tuesday when online shoppers had enough time to receive their holiday purchases at regular shipping rates,” said ScanAlert CEO Ken Leonard in a statement. “The corresponding Tuesday this year is Dec. 13, and we expect online business to peak that day for the same reason.”

HackerSafe’s coinage of the term “Super Tuesday” follows trade association Shop.org’s creation of the term “Cyber Monday” as an online answer to bricks-and-mortar retailers’ “Black Friday.”

The Friday after Thanksgiving is so named because it is traditionally held as the day offline retailers begin to turn a profit—or go into the black—for the year.

“Cyber Monday,” the Monday after Thanksgiving, however, doesn’t seem to have any real significance. Moreover, online marketing services provider DoubleClick last week published a study contending there are actually four “Cyber Mondays” in the online holiday shopping season.

In contrast to HackerSafe, DoubleClick contends that Dec. 5 and today, Dec. 12, will likely be the largest sales volume days of 2005.